1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a rear seat arrangement for vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a rear seat of a vehicle that is capable of being translated so as to enlarge the luggage compartment of the vehicle.
2. Discussion
With rear seat arrangements of this type, the loading space in saloons and estate cars can be enlarged by folding over the seat part and backrest, the use of a multi-joint hinge making it possible for the seat part to be folded a good distance forwards.
In the case of a known arrangement of this type (DE 39 13 529 A1), the multi-joint hinge is designed as a four-joint hinge which is formed by a link extending between a first joint, which is fixed on the bodywork, and a second joint, which is fixed on the seat part, the second joint, in the sitting position of the seat part, being situated between the first joint and the backrest and lower than the first joint. This design of the multi-joint hinge means that a separate lock, which is customary per se, in the rear region of the seat part, which lock is intended to prevent unintentional folding over of the seat part in the event of severe deceleration, can be omitted, because an inertia force acting in the direction of travel transmits to the seat part a moment which reinforces the position of the seat part.
A rear seat arrangement, which is likewise known, in a motor vehicle (DE 35 46 147 A1) has a four-hinge mechanism which consists of a seat-cushion-side element, which is connected to the seat cushion, a floor-side element, which is directed downwards at the front end of the seat part and is connected to the vehicle floor essentially perpendicular with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, a lower element, which is connected with its opposite upper and lower ends to the front end section of the seat-cushion-side element and, respectively, to the lower end section of the floor-side element via a bolt connection, and also of an upper element, which is connected with its opposite rear and front ends to the rear end section of the seat-cushion-side element and, respectively, to the lower end section of the floor-side element via a bolt connection in each case. With this four-hinge mechanism, the force required to put the seat part upright is reduced, so that the pivoting into its upright position can be carried out in a simple manner.
The backrests of current rear seat arrangements are conventionally fitted with a respective head restraint which is assigned to a seat and, in the event of the rear seat arrangement being unoccupied, can be pivoted away to the rear in the direction of the rear side of the backrest, to improve the driver""s view. For folding the backrest over, when enlarging the loading space, these head restraints have to be removed, since they either impede the folding-down of the backrest behind the raised-up seat part, or else reduce the size of the additional loading area obtained by folding the backrest over.
In order to make it superfluous to take the head restraint away when folding the rear seat arrangement, in the case of a known rear seat arrangement which can be folded in order to enlarge the loading space (DE-33 25 927 C1), the seat cushion is provided on the underside with recesses and can be pivoted into an approximately upright, vertical position about a pivot spindle provided on its front edge. Following the release of a catch assigned to each head restraint, the head restraints can be pivoted rearwards through 90xc2x0, and the backrest can be turned over forwards about a spindle arranged on its lower region. At the process of turning the backrest over, each head restraint has entered into one of the recesses. This necessitates precise co-ordination of the dimensions of the backrest and of the arrangement of the pivot spindles of the seat cushion and backrest, and also of the recesses in the underside of the seat cushion.
The invention is based on the object of improving a rear seat arrangement of the type mentioned at the beginning to the effect that folding over the seat part and backrest is possible without the head restraint being taken away.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a rear set arrangement that can be translated in order to enlarge the luggage compartment of a vehicle.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an improved hinge for used for translating the seat part of a rear seat from a seating position to a storage position.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a hinge for translating the seat part of a rear seat from a seating position to a storage position that raises the seat part vertically.
The present invention concerns a rear seat of a vehicle that by means of the multi-joint hinge, the seat part, when folded over, is shifted forwards to the maximum extent, and by means of its structural design according to the invention is raised sufficiently far in its vertical position leaning against the front seat arrangement that a graduation of the seat part, which graduation exists on the underside of the seat part in the front region thereof, comes to lie in the region of the upper end of the folded-over backrest, with the result that the upper end of the backrest, together with the head restraint folded down through approximately 90xc2x0 onto the rear side, are accommodated in the graduation region of the seat part. The underside of the raised-up seat part, and the rear side of the head restraints, which are put vertically upright in the folded-over horizontal position of the backrest, lie in a continuous plane bounding the loading space. Since the graduation at the front end of the seat cushion on the underside thereof exists per se, it can be used to accommodate the head restraint, and the formation of separate recesses can be omitted.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the multi-joint hinge is designed as a seven-joint hinge which is secured on the vehicle floor with two joint points in front of the front side of a transverse support which is formed on the vehicle floor, protrudes above the floor level and on which the seat part in the sitting position is supported in the region of its graduation, and is secured with one joint point on the seat underside in the graduation region thereof.
Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from a reading of the subsequent description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.